A Fox's Tale
by Professor Kelsey
Summary: What if Peeta was killed in the Bloodbath? What if Katniss was killed at the Feast by the hands of Clove? Who would have won the Games? The 74th Hunger Games through the eyes of the red-headed tribute from District 5. Reviews are much appreciated!
1. Chapter 1

Here's to all Foxface fans! Hope you enjoy!

*Disclaimer* All rights to the Hunger Games trilogy go to Suzanne Collins

_**Part 1**_

_Chapter 1_

_ "Fae Fennec!" Xavier Wilkens, District Five's escort, says loudly into the microphone, reading out the name on the slip of paper. I stood there, frozen, speechless, but mainly scared. No, that is an understatement; terrified is a more fitting word. I stepped out of the group of 17 year olds, and began walking toward the stage, to be presented as my district's female sacrifice to the Hunger Games this year. I reached the last step on the stairs, Xavier took my hand and…_

…The sunlight shines through my window, waking me up. I immediately jump out of bed and look around the room, assuring myself that it was all just a dream. Another understatement, it was a nightmare. My sixth Reaping Day and I still have terrifying dreams the night before.

Time to wash up and get dressed for the reaping. "One more reaping after this one and I won't have to worry anymore," I tell myself as I'm washing my fiery red hair. After I dry myself off and begin brushing the tangles out, I realize that this may not be entirely a good thing. I won't be eligible to sign up for the tesserae, with which I can earn a meager amount of grain, barely enough to get a little bit of food into us. By us I mean my family and I, who are known to our community as the Fennecs.

My family consists of my older brother, my father and myself. My older brother Felix had become too old to participate in the Games last year, which meant less grain, but also meant his safety. He is not required to attend the reaping, so he is most likely sleeping in for the first time in seven years. My father left at dawn to work at one of the many power plants in our district, but will be at the reaping. District Five is in charge of supplying the Capitol with electricity. The only advantage that we have is we have a little more access to electricity than the other districts, but that's all. The only thing electricity is useful for in our house is our television, which we only use to watch mandatory clips anyway. As with most districts, the workers get little pay, meaning little money to buy food. My family has other methods of finding food. We steal.

At dusk, Felix and I sneak around town to find unguarded or left behind food and other useful items. Felix had begun doing this regularly years ago, and I followed soon afterward. We have yet to get caught in the act. Often times, we find little every night, some days we find nothing. This may be due to the fact that we are not the only ones who live in near-constant hunger. The majority of the community is like us, every family saves as much as they can. It is lucky that my brother and I are good at sneaking around stealthily, or we may have starved by now. Stealing is illegal, but as long as we don't get caught, we will have a chance at surviving. Our father considers us lucky to have such skills. How we use them is unethical, but without them, we would have all starved years ago. Survival of the fittest, my brother says. We don't steal everything, of course. Just enough to keep us alive. We care about others in our community as well.

"I guess I am ready to attend the reaping," I say to my reflection as I look into our slightly warped, cracked mirror.

I am wearing a simple sunset-orange dress with white trim. My usual outfit consists of dark, comfortable, flexible clothing that make little noise when moving around. Perfect clothing for sneaking around, and yes, stealing. But everyone attending the reaping dresses up for the occasion, and I don't want to look out of place. Blending in is key. I continue to examine myself in the mirror. I still have the same fiery red hair and amber eyes. My thin, slender face and build are also present. Due to these physical traits of mine, people have always compared me to a fox. A fitting comparison, I suppose. My hair is down. It is usually done up in two buns at the top of my head so it doesn't distract me. My father calls them my 'fox ears.' I suppose my hair does add to my foxlike appearance.

School is cancelled for the day, and workers are allowed to quit early to attend the reaping, since the Capitol considers today a holiday, a time for celebration. No one celebrates. What's there to celebrate about two children between the age of 12 to 18 in our district being chosen and sent to the Capitol and forced to fight to the death with 22 others from the other 11 districts?

Soon it's the afternoon. The clock strikes 1:00 pm, and a bell sounds. Time for the reaping to take place in the town square.


	2. Chapter 2

_*Note* I know, it's been months since I uploaded the first chapter. I've been REALLY busy with school and such. Senior year of high school... gotta worry about my GPA and university and stuff._

_Chapter 2_

I find myself standing in large group of seventeen year olds. The reaping hasn't started, so everyone is socializing and chatting with one another. My family rarely socializes with anyone outside of the family. I see no advantage in making friends. It would only distract me from more important things. Survival is more important than anything.

I turn my attention to the stage. The mayor has begun speaking. He tells us about the history of Panem, from when it was once known as North America, to the Dark Days, the obliteration of District 13, and the present. Something we've all heard before. After introducing the past victors of District Five, he passes the microphone to Xavier.

"Happy Hunger Games," Xavier says cheerfully into the microphone. "And may the odds be _ever_ in your favor!" I'm sure he is the only one who finds the event 'happy'. He strolls over to one of the glass balls. My palms begin to sweat. _"My name is written on a large number of those slips of paper," _I think to myself. He reaches in, pulls a slip of paper out, glances at itI , and opens his mouth to read it out to the crowd.

"Fae Fennec!" he reads out loud.

I stood there, frozen, speechless, and terrified. My dream had come true. I force myself to walk toward the stage, one step at a time to my inevitable death. _"Act calm, look serious, NO TEARS,"_I tell myself. Every step, every movement I make for the rest of the reaping will be televised to all of Panem. I can't afford to be branded as weak.

I stand there on the stage, visible to everyone in District 5, and soon the rest of Panem. No one cheers, and no one claps. I hear a few sighs of relief from the crowd.

Xavier looks at me up and down. "Hmmm… he says. a little on the small side, but I do believe you may have a slight chance." He turns back to the crowd. "Now we get to choose a boy!" Xavier says. I am glad that Xavier gets straight to the point during the reaping. When I watch the other district's reapings, their escorts seem to stretch the ceremony out.

He walks over to the other glass ball and pulls out a name.

"Aether Sarfield!" he says.

I know this boy from school. He is a year younger than me. I watch him walk through the crowd and up the stage. He has dark brown hair and eyes and slightly tanned skin. He's slightly taller than me and has a medium build. He doesn't hold back his fear at all. He's obviously on the verge of tears.

"May I present to you, this year's District 5 tributes! And may the odds be _ever _in your favor." Xavier says once more. There was no applause. Nothing. Just silence from the crowd. Xavier then goes on with the rest of the ceremony, with us still on stage. He speaks of the Treaty of Treason, and turns his attention back to us. Aether holds out his hand for me to grasp, and we shake hands. We avoid eye contact. We are enemies, after all. The anthem plays, to mark the ending of the ceremony.

The crowd is now dismissed, and Aether and I are escorted by two Peacekeepers to the justice building. In my mind, they are escorting us to the next step of our inevitable death.

_I hope you enjoyed it! I probably won't be uploading the next chapter very soon. Like I said, I've been busy with school. It'll happen eventually! Reviews are much appreciated!_


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